The Curse of Chat Noir
by Keyblade Ninja 21
Summary: Felix, Adrien's cousin, reluctantly come to visit. Adrien is prepared for awkward small talk and a certain stoicism from Felix, which is normal; they hardly talk. Felix just wants to go get this family visit over with so he can go home. But when Adrien gets fever and has nightmares about his ring, Felix makes the poor decision to take it. What was so special about a ring anyway?
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the full summary from ao3 since it's posted on there as well:**

 **Felix is Adrien's older cousin, reluctantly come to visit. Adrien is prepared for awkward small talk and a stoicism that nearly puts his father to shame. He supposes that's normal, though; they hardly talk.**

 **Felix just wants to go get this family visit over with so he can go home. But when Adrien falls ill with a fever and starts having nightmares about his ring, Felix makes the poor decision of taking it. What was so special about a ring, anyway?**

* * *

When Adrien had been informed that his older cousin Felix was coming to visit for a while, he had been... alright with that. However, between school, his other lessons, any work his father wanted him to do, and being Chat Noir, that small piece of info had been pushed to the far reaches of his mind. So when Felix had showed up almost a week later, Adrien had been kind of taken by surprise.

"Adrien, Felix is here," Nathalie had announced, still looking down at her phone to handle something that was no doubt work related. "Please show him around. I've already made you two lunch reservations at a local restaurant in the city. Have the car take you."

Felix had stood there, tall and cold as Nathalie left. His blonde hair was combed neatly, not a hair out of place. Green eyes watched him, nearly uninterested in anything around him. His dark clothes and vest posed an odd contrast to his hair. Even with the small height, and age, difference, the two could nearly be mistaken for twins by an outsider.

As Felix just stood there, Adrien wanted to sigh. It didn't look like Felix was anymore friendly than he had been the last time he had visited. "Uh, ready to go eat, Felix?" Adrien asked, hoping to lessen the awkward tension that seemed to fill the space between them.

"Do I have a choice? Seems like I already have a schedule planned out," Felix remarked cooly, looking around at the mansion.

 _You've no idea,_ Adrien thought. He could swear his life was nothing but scheduled events one after another. "Nathalie means well, and I'm sure the restaurant will be nice," he tried, leading the way outside and to the car already waiting for them. Felix followed without saying a word, still stoic and impersonal.

The ride was silent, as Adrien had thought it would be. Or rather, Felix was still quiet, while Adrien had tried to inform Felix of some of the cool places they passed while going to eat. The restaurant was even worse. Everyone around them were talking to each other, remarking on the lovely atmosphere and different things on the menu. Felix remained silent. Even the waiter seemed off-put by Felix's demeanor even though Felix had done nothing actually _rude._ He just seemed to give off that vibe.

Adrien tried for some form of small talk, trying different topics of conversation that he could think of that may lead to an actual conversation. He knew that it was going to be somewhat awkward; he hadn't seen Felix in years and they had not contacted each other in that time. They were virtually strangers with nothing seemingly in common other than their family line.

Felix's responses to Adrien's questions were either silence with a sense of judgment, one word responses, or a curt sentence that killed the conversation in its early stages. About halfway through, Felix excused himself to go to the restroom and Adrien heaved a heavy sigh, letting his head fall to the table.

"What's up with him?" a voice whispered near Adrien's shoulder. "He's got an attitude problem," Plagg continued, keeping hidden beneath Adrien's jacket collar.

"That's just... Felix," Adrien couldn't help but sigh again. Thankfully, their table was more secluded in case anyone happened across them. Nathalie was pretty good at making sure he could eat without being pestered by the general populous, so he didn't look quite so crazy when he talked to "himself."

"Do you want me to bite him?" Plagg asked, licking a paw. "I could claw him a little bit. He'd never know it was me."

Adrien furrowed his brows at the kwami. "You're being... nice." If Adrien didn't know Plagg was...well, Plagg, he may find it suspicious. And as appealing as the idea was... "No, no clawing or biting him. He's only visiting for a couple weeks, and he's staying in one of my father's hotel suites across the city instead of the mansion so he won't be around constantly."

Plagg sniffed, "Good, I don't think I could deal with that all the time. He may be worse than your old man, kid." Before Adrien could respond, he saw Felix rounding the corner, so Adrien stuffed Plagg inside his jacket. Despite protests, Plagg still snorted an almost sarcastic sounding "good luck!" before he went willingly.

Not long after Felix sat back down, the food arrived, saving Adrien some time to try and fill the awkward silence. Briefly, he wondered if Felix felt as awkward as he did or if he just enjoyed the silence.

Forks and knives scrapping their plates was the only sound that filled the immediate area, only other people's conversations filtering to them provided some kind of background noise. Felix was finished, while Adrien was still eating his larger portion of food. Surprisingly, Felix didn't seem to care that Adrien was eating enough for two people.

Although, true to his inherent bad luck, he only made it about half way through his plate before the distant screaming started. Adrien felt Plagg zip up his jacket, still hidden as everyone around the restaurant stood up and ran outside.

"What's happening?" Felix asked, standing up to look as well.

"Akuma!" Plagg whispered.

"I can't just leave-" Adrien whispered back. Felix would obviously notice if he just up and left. Looking out of the large windows in the front of the restaurant, he could see Ladybug swinging through the buildings to get to the attack. What should he do? He obviously needed to help, not that his Lady needed help exactly, but he was a hero too. Looking at the people piling outside, Adrien lost sight of Felix. Well, that settled that. Quickly, he darted into an abandoned hallway of the restaurant and transformed.

He'd always love transforming. The rush of his heightened senses was invigorating, and his body seemed supercharged somehow. Using his baton, Chat extended it until he was able to jump onto the roofs nearby and then he raced after his Lady hoping he wasn't too late to help.

* * *

"What took you so long, Chat? I thought you were going to let me do all the work this time," Ladybug asked as Chat swooped in at the last second to distract the akuma. He had been too late to get this one's name, but that didn't really matter. They were all named oddly anyway; Hawkmoth really needed to step up his name game. Adrien could name them so much better, preferably with a few puns.

"I was a bit caught up, My Lady, but I'm here now, no worries," Chat responded flirtily. "Did you miss me?"

"I missed my backup, yes," Ladybug answered, hopping from roof to roof as the akuma made its way towards them. It was slower, but simple hits seemed to do no damage whatsoever.

Chat followed, a roof behind, using his baton to make his movements smoother. "Any ideas on how to get rid of it?" he asked. She didn't respond, but he knew she was scoping for a weak point.

In it's frustration, the akuma lashed out at the nearby buildings. It was some kind of large...creature of some kind. Almost scaly like a lizard, only...not. It stood on two legs to walk, but went down on all fours to move quicker. It also seemed to spit some kind of poison. _That was such a nice touch_ , Adrien thought sarcastically.

As the creature's tail swung about mindlessly, it crashed into some buildings which caused some large chunks of debris to go flying. Thankfully, no one was anywhere nearby so taking the akuma out was easily done with his Lady's Lucky Charm, and a quick Cataclysm from him as well. Only, just before taking the thing down it blasted Chat with poison, making him fall to his knees and begin coughing harshly. It felt like his lungs were on fire and being _shredded_ from the inside.

"Chat!" he heard Ladybug scream, but he was too preoccupied with the burning in his lungs to really focus. Ladybug's purification soon swept around the city, fixing everything the way it should be. As the red blur passed over Chat, he inhaled deeply as he could finally breathe once again. "Chat, are you okay?" she asked, running over to him, putting a hand on his back.

"Thank you, My Lady," Chat choked out, rubbing his throat. Their miraculouses beeping interrupted before he could croak out anymore thanks to her.

"Go home and rest, Chat," she ordered. "Do you need any help? We've got a little time left, I can get you in the right direction at least."

"I'm purr-fectly fine," Chat smiled, enjoying his pun, even if his voice was still a little scratchy. Besides, it was hardly flattering for him to appear so weak in front of her. "I'm feline better now!"

He didn't miss her look of skepticism and slight annoyance at his puns, but listened nonetheless. She kept a weary eye on him, until she swung away, shouting out a "Get some rest!" behind her again before disappearing.

Yeah, rest sounded good. He was tired now that the adrenaline was wearing off with the transformation. A nice nap sounded fantastic, and he'd have to get Plagg some Camembert before he started getting really cranky. On autopilot, Chat made it a few blocks away and into an alley before the transformation released and he stumbled into the street with everyone else.

* * *

A few hours later, Felix sat watching over Adrien.

After having returned from the chaos that had erupted in the restaurant, Adrien's driver had driven them straight back to the mansion. Adrien had been fine during lunch, even if he had insisted on banal small talk. Felix hated small talk; there was no point in talking if one wasn't _saying anything,_ so he had mostly remained silent. He had no desire to talk for the sake of talking.

Felix had seen the akuma on the news, and the new heroes of Paris, so he could only assume there had been an attack. The only upside had been that whatever had happened, happened several blocks away so Felix hadn't been caught in it. He knew that the heroes "saved Paris" and "protected the people", but to Felix, it took a special kind of crazy to run _towards_ the danger instead of away from it. Perhaps the suits and powers helped...

A fit of coughing broke through Felix's thoughts, bringing his attention back to Adrien. He was now sweaty and occasionlly tossing his head in his fevered sleep. Adrien had been coughing for a while after they had returned from the attack, but he had soon started wheezing like he was choking on something. Nathalie had insisted on him laying down and giving his younger cousin medicine to help. Not that it seemed to do Adrien any good. Felix had left the room to walk around the mansion before Nathalie insisted he watch over Adrien as she called the doctor to make a house call. By the time Felix had returned to the room, Adrien had been asleep and twitching in his sleep, muttering unintelligible things.

He really hoped he didn't get sick from exposure. Even though he did feel bad for Adrien, Felix had no desire to get sick as well.

"Plagg... my ring... don't-" Adrien began mumbling, not making any coherent sentences that made sense.

Felix furrowed his brows as he listened to Adrien mumble. He kept mumbling about his ring, and at first glance, Felix didn't know what was so special. It looked like a simple silver ring, with an odd little design on top. Nothing special.

"No!" Adrien nearly shouted suddenly, making Felix jump, before quieting down again. "Lady... my ring..."

Rolling his eyes, Felix grabbed Adrien's hand and took the damn thing off. If his cousin was having nightmares about it (and who had nightmares about a ring?) then he'd just take the thing off for him.

 _What's so special about it anyway?_ Felix wondered, looking at the piece of silver metal in his hands. Certainly didn't look special to Felix. In fact, with as rich and keen on fashion that Felix knew his Uncle Gabriel was, the ring was actually a bit out of place. He was surprised Adrien was actually allowed to wear it. Then again, Uncle Gabriel didn't seem to pay much attention to Adrien if what Felix's mother told him was correct. Not to mention that Felix hadn't so much as seen his uncle since he had arrived.

Absently fiddling with the ring, Felix turned when Nathalie had arrived with the doctor. "Felix, I've got the car ready for you to take you to the suite. Thank you for sitting with Adrien," Nathalie told him, one minute addressing him and by the next, completely dismissing him as she explained to the doctor what was going on.

Huffing slightly, Felix slipped the ring on before walking out of the room. He'd just give it back to Adrien when he saw him again in a couple days. Hopefully, Adrien would be healthy by then. The last thing Felix saw was the doctor and Nathalie surrounding his cousin, before walking down the stairs and back outside to the car.

* * *

The driver mercifully remained silent the whole ride, Nathalie already having programmed the GPS to where Felix needed to go. He was glad for that. The drive didn't take more than twenty minutes before the car stopped in front of a lavish hotel. The driver handed him some ID cards and a brochure before unlocking the doors.

The hotel was every bit as fancy as he imagined his uncle would settle for. A bit too fancy for Felix's tastes, but he could appreciate it nonetheless. While his family wasn't as rich as Adrien's family, they were still well off.

After checking in, and being unnecessarily doted upon because he was "Mr. Agreste's important guest", Felix was escorted to his room. And by room, Felix realized they meant humongous suite that was nearly a whole floor by itself. What exactly did his uncle think he needed all this space for? He was one person; It seemed a bit wasteful to Felix.

The bellhop set Felix's bags inside the doorway, asking if Felix needed any help with anything before going on and on about the history of the hotel. None of which Felix cared about, so he dismissed the bellhop quickly, shutting the door behind him.

He stood there for a moment, taking in the overly large living area and smaller kitchen off to the side. He could spot at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms just from the doorway. Why had his mother insisted he visit again? Couldn't she have just called and talked with Adrien and Uncle Gabriel over the phone like usual? Although, his mother never really got to talk to his uncle much. It seemed he was even less of a people person than Felix was, and that was saying something.

Rubbing his hand down his face, Felix felt a brush of something cold against his skin. Pulling his hand away, he remembered the ring that he had taken from Adrien. Now that Felix got a better look at it, he didn't care for it.

Felix pulled off the ring as he walked into the living area. Or at least, he tried to. Multiple times. Only the damned thing would not...Come. Off!

Laughter next to Felix's head made him whip around, looking for whoever was in the room. Heart racing, he walked around the suite, looking for anybody besides himself within. Maybe there had been a house keeper still straightening the rooms or something...

 _Or maybe not,_ Felix thought, once he had gone through all the rooms (there were actually five rooms) in the suite. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the living area. He knew what he-

"Oh, kid, you're an idiot aren't you?" the same voice laughed again.

Felix turned quickly, coming face to face with a tiny...floating...cat? Caught by surprise, Felix remained still, eyes nearly crossed looking down his nose at the creature. _What the hell?_

The creature looked at him, whiskers flicking occasionally, saying nothing while staring back at Felix. "Boo!" it suddenly cried, causing Felix to flinch backwards and onto one of the couches. It instantly started cackling while it floated.

Felix grabbed a pillow and tried to hit the thing out of the air. Only for the little thing to phase through it like Felix had swatted at the air. "What are you?" Felix asked, still caught by surprise and just a little freaked out.

The creature just laughed more, not answering the question.

"Well?!" Felix demanded, standing back up. His shock was giving away to embarrassed anger at being laughed at. He didn't like to look like a fool, and that's what he felt like.

The creature finally stopped laughing and looked Felix up and down. "Plagg," it answered.

"What?"

"My name," Plagg drawled slowly. "My name is Plagg," he continued, like he was talking to an infant.

"I'm not stupid," Felix snapped at Plagg's tone. "You've still yet to answer my question."

"Well, here's the thing," Plagg said, zipping towards Felix's face. "I'm a kwami, don't worry kid. You won't know what that is. But you really should've just left the ring with Adrien." Felix gave a questioning look at the thing. "Now you're cursed! Congratulations. This oughta be interesting." Then he zipped around the room, looking at things.

"Cursed?" Felix murmured to himself, watching Plagg flit about.

"Oh, yeah, big time kid," Plagg answered, zipping right back into Felix's face.

Felix pulled at the ring again. "Well, get this thing off of me! I don't want it."

Plagg snorted, "Too late for that. The only way to get that thing off now... is to die!" This information came with a dramatic wave of his tiny paws. "I did say cursed didn't I?"

"Die?!" Felix nearly shouted. What the hell was going on? He was so _not_ dying just to get the ring off. Almost desperately, Felix kept trying to force the ring from his finger, but all that got him was a painfully popped finger. The thing wouldn't come off!

"Or," Plagg continued, barely suppressed laughter off-setting his otherwise grave tone. "Get a kiss from Ladybug, which ever comes first."

He froze. "Ladybug? What does she have to do with this?" _None of this is making any sense!_

Plagg didn't answer, instead asking if there was any Camembert cheese anywhere while flying towards the fridge.

"Plagg!" Felix snapped, running over to snatch the tiny cat out of the air in his hands. "Tell me what Ladybug has to do with this? In fact, tell me everything right now," he demanded, only slightly hysterical. Normally, he was poised and controlled, but he could cut himself some slack. None of this was normal.

Plagg's tiny whiskers fluttered for a minute, his green eyes widening for a second. "Oh, you're about to find out real quick, Kid! Get ready," Plagg supplied with a snicker. Before Felix could shake the _kwami_ in his hands, Plagg flew from his hand and turned into a black blur as he got sucked into the ring.

Suddenly, Felix felt a rush of energy take over his body as Plagg disappeared. He threw his arms up at the quick flash of green light, and then it was totally silent.

* * *

 **Hello readers! I got this lovely idea from ladyserendipitous on tumblr. I have been wanting to write a Ladybug fanfic for forever and especially one with Felix. There doesn't seem to be enough love for this idiot, so I wrote some! This is also my first Ladybug fanfic so please be gentle! Comments and criticism are welcome! I'd love to know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

No.

No, this was not happening.

Felix stared at himself in the mirror, his features washed in shock and denial. What was once neatly combed hair and dark clothes, gave way to skin tight leather-like material, claws, and a messy mane of hair with...cat ears? And a belt tail? What the hell was going on? Why did he look like Chat Noir? Although, he suspected he didn't _just_ look like Chat Noir. Felix watched with vibrant green feline eyes at his newly acquired cat ears flicked back and forth, picking up sounds as they twitched.

What was more shocking, however, was the news that Adrien who always listened to the rules and was too nice for his own good, was _actually_ Chat Noir. Felix was almost impressed with his younger cousin, if he wasn't so appalled that he was insane enough to throw himself _at_ the danger instead of running away from it.

No! Nope! He absolutely did not want this. Why had he taken that damn ring off Adrien's finger?

 _Curiosity killed the cat,_ his mind supplied unhelpfully.

He already wanted to punch something.

Managing to shove himself from the mirror, Felix almost couldn't look away from himself. Similar to looking at a car crash happening in front of him, his eyes kept drawing back to ogle at the newly acquired features.

A sudden blare of traffic horns made Felix flinch and jump into the air before landing in a crouch, body suddenly ready to take on whatever the noise was. Then immediately, he felt like a fool. Who jumps at a sudden car horn from outside? Infuriated at everything that was happening, Felix stormed out of the bathroom, flinging the door open. Only to have the door come flying backwards and put a decent size hole in the wall.

Okay... apparently, he was stronger now too...

Using his claws, he tried to pry the ring off again, but still to no avail. He just wanted this over with; he'd give it back to Adrien the next time he saw him. Adrien could pounce around Paris all he wanted, but Felix wanted no part of it.

At a loss for what to do since he now couldn't leave even if he wanted to, Felix prowled around the suite trying to burn all of the extra energy that came with the Chat Noir transformation. He didn't dare leave in case the transformation gave out as suddenly as it came. Not to mention, he _absolutely_ did not want to be seen like this. Ever.

* * *

"Order some Camembert," Plagg's voice demanded as he flitted about the suite again.

"No," Felix answered, crossing his arms over his chest. He was back to normal now, the ring back to its dull silver band on his finger.

"Come on, Kid, I'm starving here," Plagg complained. "This is animal cruelty."

"You're not even an animal, you're a kwami, or whatever you called yourself," Felix retorted. Plagg stopped flying around to give Felix an intimidating glare. Or at least, Felix supposed Plagg was trying be intimidating. That feat was hard when Plagg was literally only a few inches tall: Felix was hardly scared. "Why don't you be useful and explain what exactly is going on?"

Plagg sniffed and licked a paw, his tiny green eyes narrowed. "Not until I get my cheese," he answered. "No cheese, no explanation."

"No explanation, no cheese," Felix countered, arms still crossed. Then they glared at each other, neither willing to budge. Felix was going to get his explanation, and he could out-stubborn the best of them. Tiny magic creatures included.

"Adrien's much nicer," Plagg commented with a flick of his tail.

"I'm not Adrien."

Felix and Plagg still stared at each other for a few more minutes before Plagg sighed. "Clearly. How about I give you a little bit of information while you order some cheese, and then I'll tell you the rest once I get it?"

Felix wanted so bad to decline the deal for the sake of telling Plagg no, but logically he knew that was probably the best he was going to get in this scenario. He'd rather not fight with the kwami more than he had to, at least until he knew what exactly was going on. "Deal," Felix conceded, heading for the hotel phone. Quickly, he ordered some cheese from room service then told Plagg to start talking.

"You're cursed, Kid. You get to be the new Chat Noir, hero, and partner to Ladybug," Plagg started. _No way, I would've never figured that out..._ Felix thought sarcastically, still keeping a straight face and prompting Plagg to keep talking. Felix wondered if Plagg was being purposefully unhelpful or it was just natural for the creature.

"Since you aren't the chosen keeper of the ring, and instead took the ring like an idiot," Plagg continued, muttering that last part to himself, "you can't take the ring off on your own. Like I already told you, you either die or get a kiss from Ladybug."

 _Freaking perfect,_ Felix sighed. He had such excellent choices, really. Death or a kiss from a stranger. "What exactly does Ladybug have to do with the curse? Why is she the only one who can break it?"

"Easy; Ladybug and Chat Noir are two halves of a whole. She gets all the good luck, the power to purify, and my cats get the bad luck and the power of destruction. They balance it out; only her magic can counteract mine. Simple, really," Plagg explained.

"So why even have the curse to begin with?"

"To deter those who'd want to steal the miraculous," Plagg said with a pointed look at Felix. Hey, he hadn't been trying to steal it! "Now where's my cheese? I'm still starving over here."

Slowly, Felix counted to ten...and then twenty, but he still couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration. How did Adrien deal with the little pest on a daily basis? A knock on the door pulled Felix from glaring daggers at Plagg. It was the little monster's cheese. The room service lady handed the platter to him with a smile, before Felix nearly shut the door in her face with a curt "Thanks." Then Felix caught a whiff of the cheese, "Plagg, this smells disgusting!"

A blur of black passed by Felix's face once he shut the door. "But it's so good!" Plagg cried, shoving half a chunk in his mouth.

"Get on with the explanation, I held up my end of the deal."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your vest on," Plagg muttered, eating the rest of the chunk quickly. "Anyway, you'll be transforming anytime Ladybug does and I'll get very little warning. That's why you suddenly transformed before."

"And what does that mean for me? I'd rather not be stuck inside this hotel suite just waiting for her to transform," Felix asked, finding a chair to sit on. He needed time to process this.

Satisfied at the large amount of cheese he'd eaten in a short amount of time, Plagg curled up on one of the chairs opposite Felix. "You get to be Chat Noir, obviously. You get to be a hero, and you'd better because Ladybug can't do it all on her own."

After the apparently exhausting explanation, Plagg had fallen asleep. It was the quietest Felix had seen him, so he didn't bother the kwami. The less Plagg talked, the less frustrated Felix seemed to be. Maybe he'd get some sleep too, between traveling and being cursed, it had been a long day. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

* * *

"Why are we going to the store?" Plagg asked, floating just inside Felix's jacket collar.

Curling his lip slightly, Felix grabbed Plagg away from his face and shoved him in a pocket. The creature was way too into his personal space, thank you, and he definitely didn't need him whispering in his ear.

Truthfully, Felix just needed to get out of the suite for a while. He needed food, and needed to think. Plagg told him that, unless an akuma attacked, Ladybug usually didn't transform since it was the weekend. Occasionally, her and Chat Noir would patrol but not too often in the morning or early afternoon. However, Plagg forgot to tell him that Felix's new "bad luck" would kick into action right off the bat. He'd stubbed his toes, the warm water ran out only a minute into his shower, he'd gotten a five in the morning wake up call that he didn't call for... the list went on and on. At that rate, Felix kept a weary eye out for everything and everyone in his path.

He had tried to call Adrien, but Nathalie had answered saying that Adrien was still sleeping away his fever. He hadn't woke up except to drink some water and take more medicine. Plagg seemed relieved that Adrien was doing better, and truthfully, Felix was too. He had a lot he wanted to talk to Adrien about. Namely all this Chat Noir nonsense.

"Get some more cheese!" Plagg told him, flying up the inside of his jacket once again. Huffing, Felix grabbed ahold of Plagg _again_ and pushed him down. Several people around him gave him odd looks at the jerky movement, but Felix didn't care. Their opinions didn't matter anyway.

Felix looked around, only grabbing the items he needed. He shopped quickly, but efficiently, and wasted no time circling the store like some people seemed to do. He swore the same old lady passed him at least five times. Plagg only demanded cheese two more times before Felix finally grabbed some for him, effectively shutting him up for the remainder of the shopping. Four bags of food later, and Felix was back on his way to the hotel.

Plagg wasted no time jumping head-first into the bag with his disgusting cheese, already digging in. Curling his lip, Felix let the kwami do what he wanted. At least Plagg wasn't trying to whisper in his ear or worm his way up Felix's jacket anymore. He'd take what he could get, as long as Plagg didn't try and-

"Hey, we're about to transform," Plagg interrupted Felix's thoughts, head popping up from the bag. "Just thought you should know."

"What?!" Felix nearly hissed a bit too loudly. Once again, several people turned to him at his sudden outburst. Ignoring them, Felix picked up his gait, eyes searching for a place to hide. He found none, so an alley would have to do. It was still way more public than Felix would have liked, but he had no other options.

"You should go find Ladybug, I don't want to be stuck with you forever," Plagg muttered, flying up and out of the grocery bag.

Ducking down behind the dumpster, Felix dropped the bags as the green light enveloped his body, turning his nice clothes into black leather-like material. "I hate you," Felix whispered to his ring, hoping Plagg could hear him. If not, he'd tell Plagg again later. Then again, he'd probably tell Plagg again later anyway.

 _So what the hell am I supposed to do?_ Felix thought to himself, looking down at his new ensemble. Feeling behind him, Felix grasped the Chat Noir baton. How was this thing even supposed to work? It didn't have buttons that Felix could see, and it was only a bit longer than his hand. Adrien flew through Paris almost as well as Ladybug, how did he make the baton longer-

As soon as Felix thought that, the baton immediately grew five times longer than it was, nearly touching both walls of the alley.

Alright then...

Felix tried swinging the baton around, but it never did anything special. Propping it against the ground, Felix sighed as he leaned forward. It seemed sturdy, clearly a product of whatever kwami magic that made him Chat Noir. He really wished Plagg would have given him a little more information about being Chat Noir. Distantly, Felix heard people running out in the streets, seeing a few of them pass by the mouth of the alley.

How on Earth could Felix even _be_ Chat Noir? He had no real instruction, and just winging it seemed unwise. Getting a kiss from Ladybug at this rate was going to be basically impossible; and dying to get the ring off wasn't even an option. He wasn't so maudlin that he'd resort to death to get away from the ring.

The sounds of Ladybug fighting with the akuma echoed down the alley where Felix still examined the baton. Sighing, Felix gave up trying to get the baton to do what he wanted, and attempted to run into the streets. If there was no other way, Felix would run since the baton wouldn't extend-

Suddenly, the baton extended, one end on the ground, the rest of it reaching upward above the buildings nearby. Felix scrambled to find a hold on the baton as it jerked him upwards and into the air. "Stop, stop, stop," Felix muttered, closing his eyes. His ascent halted just as suddenly as it began. Felix remained clinging to the baton, arms and legs nearly wrapped around it.

A light breeze made Felix open his eyes. He was held up above the shop buildings that lined the alley, just hanging there as the baton remained abnormally long. _How in the hell did I do that?_ he wondered, looking around. About five blocks over, he could see Ladybug fight with the akuma. So much for helping Ladybug... She seemed to be able to handle it all on her own.

Pushing forward, Chat landed on the nearest roof, baton still ridiculously extended. He examined the thing closely, still not seeing exactly how the item worked. No matter what Felix looked at, he could see nothing to make the baton smaller. It was then that Felix spotted the little paw print design in the baton. Perhaps that was the key...

Felix brushed his thumb over the pad of the paw and the baton grew smaller until it was about a foot long. _Hmmm_... It wasn't quite a button, but the paw print seemed to respond to what Felix wanted while he was holding it. _Extend,_ Felix thought, watching as the baton grew to what size Felix intended. _Shrink;_ then the baton was back to normal.

 _Interesting,_ Felix smirked, feeling particularly proud that he had at least figured something out. It was a start. Newly focused, Felix took off running, leaping from roof to roof, still getting used to the baton as he went. He almost made it to where he had last seen Ladybug fighting, before he heard a cry of "Miraculous Ladybug" and watched as Ladybug's magic swept through the area, finally surrounding a man who was crouched down on the street looking confused.

Looks like I missed the akuma...

He landed suprisingly quiet, watching Ladybug look around while pulling the yo-yo back to her hand. At his landing, she turned around, a bright smile on her face. "Chat, where-" she started but then paused. Before she could continue, the man who had been akumatized came up to her, apologising for anything he may have done. She waved him off with a polite smile and reassurances, before turning back to Chat. "This place is a bit crowded, let's go somewhere else." She didn't give him enough time to respond before she was zipping off on her yo-yo, leaving Felix to stare after her for a moment. Finally, after huffing, Felix took off running, only using the baton when he had to.

 _At least I didn't have to fight the akuma,_ Felix thought, running after Ladybug. That was an unexpected blessing. Especially considering his newfound bad luck.

After a few blocks, Ladybug stopped on a high business building and waited for him to catch up. Felix was surprised that he wasn't very winded from the quick run. He exercised frequently, but he'd definitely be out of breath if he was just Felix. Once again, Felix landed smoothly and quietly. The two stood there for a moment, her back to him. Was he supposed to say something first? Is that why she hadn't said anything?

 _Oh, god. I've gotta pretend to be Adrien..._ Or Adrien's Chat Noir, which was infinitely worse. His Chat persona was a flirt with Ladybug, wasn't he? While Felix knew he'd have to work towards getting a kiss from Ladybug, he wasn't sure he could flirt with her without feeling like a complete idiot. Even with a mask on, it was still Felix, and saying such moronic things out loud, much less to anyone, made him feel nauseous.

He was saved from saying anything first, when she swung around quickly, glaring at him. "Who are you?!" she demanded harshly, swinging her yo-yo around loosely.

Felix held his hands up, really not wanting to fight. "Chat Noir," he answered honestly. _Shit, did she already know? I haven't even said anything yet. Then again, maybe that was the problem._

"No, you're not," she snapped, swinging the yo-yo a little faster until it was a pink blur. "How did you get the miraculous? Where's the other Chat? What did you do to him?"

* * *

 **Poor Felix, adorable little idiot. He's about to have a bad (worse?) time...**

 **I took some creative liberty with Chat's baton. I haven't watched Miraculous in...way too long (come on Valentine's Day!) and I wanted to kind of put my own spin on it, I guess? Hope it made sense.**

 **So chapter 2, what did ya think? I'd love comments! I kinda fought with this chapter a little, so seriously, let me know. Also, would anyone be interested in beta-ing for me? Or at least reading it before I post it to make sure it flows right and sounds ok? I usually can't tell until after I've posted it, and can read it like everyone else.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys think! Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

Felix stood there, momentarily frozen. He'd give Ladybug credit, she'd only seen him for like a minute and knew he wasn't Chat Noir. "Where is he?" she demanded again, face pinched in anger.

"I didn't hurt him if that's what you're asking," Felix told her, not bothering to lie. He may not tell her much, but lying about it wasn't going to help anything.

"And how do I know that?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I can't actually prove it without telling you who he is, which I won't do." Felix wasn't a snitch. It was bad enough he knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, no one else needed to know unless Adrien wanted them to. "You'll just have to trust me."

"Not likely," she told him. She still looked fierce, like she was ready to take him out there and now.

That gave Felix an idea. "If you won't trust me, then you can try to take the ring off. If you can get if off, you can have it." Maybe she'd get stuck with the curse and Felix would be free.

If possible, her eyes narrowed further. With the utmost caution, she crept closer, watching any small movement from Felix as he held his hand towards her, palm up. Felix felt a ray of hope as she got closer. Plagg did say that her magic could counteract his, maybe she'd be able just to take the ring off. Forget getting her to kiss him...

She flung the yoyo at him, the string surrounding him and pinning his arms down to his sides. _Was that really necessary?_ She reached forward and Felix's heart pounded as she gripped his hand firmly, going for the ring. _This is it!_

"I can't," she told him, quickly throwing him onto the ground like a wrestler. "Why not?"

The air left Felix with a _whoosh_ as he hit the ground, with Ladybug pinning him face-down on the roof. How had this turned so bad? Why couldn't she take the ring off? Frustrated, Felix wiggled, grabbing his baton to extend it and pry away the yoyo's string from trapping him. She jumped back, poised lithely and ready to retaliate, the yoyo zipping back to her.

"Look, I'd rather not fight with you," Felix told her, holding his hands up. "And by the sound of that-" he pointed to her ear rings that began beeping incessantly, "and my ring, you're about to change back, which means I am too. We'll talk next time, and I'll explain more." With that, Felix turned and used the baton to reach the ground safely. He didn't miss her look of confusion before he leapt down, and a part of him felt good about that. It wasn't only him who was confused about everything.

* * *

Felix was beginning to think that Ladybug was transforming on purpose. Since she had no knowledge of the curse, he doubted that was the case. There had been a significant increase in patrols and akuma attacks, according to Plagg. Within the last two days, there had been three attacks. One time he had been stranded in his suite again, just pacing with crossed arms until it wore off. For the second one, he had gone back to the same grocery store to get more food since his had ended up in the dumpster where he transformed. Felix had to run inside the bathroom and squeeze out of the tiny window to get out before someone caught him. Then, once again, he had to go back for his groceries when the transformation was over. At least he hadn't actually bought them again before he had to sprint to the bathroom.

The third attack, Felix had actually been really close to the akuma victim. The butterfly had actually floated past him to someone across the street in a distant car, before the car doors had been blown off the vehicle for someone to start flying around destroying stuff. In between screams from the akuma (something about traffic) Felix had found a place to hide so no one would see the transformation. It took Ladybug a full thirty seconds to transform after he'd hidden, so he had to wait.

Once transformed, Felix figured he could make a quick get away as he still didn't know how to use his powers. Plagg was very little help, opting to complain more than actually inform Felix of anything. They had driven each other crazy, and often didn't talk to each other unless they had to.

As Ladybug showed up, Felix exited his hiding spot far closer to the fight than he found comfortable. "Are you going to help me?" Ladybug had demanded as she spotted him, dodging cars as the akuma had started flinging them around like toys.

"Feel free to take this one down by yourself, too," Felix responded, trying to get away from the fight. There was _no_ way he was going to try and fight-

That thought was cut short by Ladybug tackling him to the ground as a car went flying down the street. "You're not going anywhere!" she nearly hissed at him. "At the very least Paris needs to see Chat Noir is still here, even if you're a fake."

"I'm not a fake-" Felix started, before Ladybug turned to him with a grin. Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and _threw_ him in the direction of the akuma.

Eyes wide and heart now pounding wildly, Felix's body twisted in the air, claws first to smack into the akuma. They collided with a _smack_ and tumbled to the ground. Felix popped up quickly, checking over himself. A normal human would have several broken bones, but he was fine. Glaring, Felix looked back at Ladybug, who was already running towards them, yoyo at the ready.

"What the hell-"

Ladybug pushed Felix to the side to grab at the akuma's hand. She grabbed a set of keys and broke one, causing the akuma to dissolve into the human underneath.

"I hope you don't treat the other Chat that way," Felix said, dusting his suit off. So much for being a hero of Paris; Ladybug wasn't very nice.

"He's an _actual_ hero, unlike you. I'm not sure how you got the ring, but you're not _my_ Chat," she told him, grabbing the akuma butterfly to purify it. After setting everything the way it was, she grabbed Felix again and swung them up to another rooftop. She landed, dropping Felix on the roof in a heap.

"I'm sensing rooftops are a thing for you," Felix snarked under his breath. What was wrong with the normal ground?

"You've got about thirty seconds to start talking," Ladybug told him. "How come the ring didn't come off before? How did you even get it?"

Felix arched a brow at her. He could appreciate her not wasting time, instead getting to the heart of the matter. Finally, someone who didn't want to have idle chit chat. "I took the ring-"

Before he could finish the sentence, she had already started swinging the yoyo around, flinging it at him to wrap him up like before. Quickly, Felix snatched the end, wrapping his hand in the string. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to start... "Would you let me finish? I took the ring, but I had no idea what it was. If I knew _this_ would've happened, I wouldn't have bothered. But I'm Chat Noir... for now, so we're both going to have to deal with it." Even though he _really_ didn't want to.

She tugged on the string a bit, but Felix held strong, holding her glare. Hopefully, she could see that he was telling the truth. "Fine," she nearly after staring him down, "but I don't have to like it. Paris needs both of its heroes, so you better step up. People have noticed that Chat Noir doesn't show up half the time."

"Fine, I'll make _appearances,_ " Felix conceded, letting go of the yoyo so it could _zip_ back to Ladybug.

She huffed quietly to herself though he heard it anyway. "Just answer one more question," she continued. "How's the _real_ Chat Noir doing?"

Well, at least Felix knew she had Adrien's back when they were out around Paris being crazy magic vigilantes. She seemed genuinely worried that he'd done something to Adrien. "He was sick, but he's fine. Now, if you don't mind, I'm leaving," Felix told her, before turning and leaping from the roof. His ring had one little paw print left, and he had about five whole seconds to get to solid ground.

* * *

"Will you shut up already?!" Felix asked, fuming at Plagg as he hovered around the suite. The kwami had not stopped laughing since they'd returned. It was grating on Felix's ears and his nerves.

"I can't believe she _threw_ you at the akuma!" Plagg howled again. "I'm gonna have to send her a cheese basket!" Plagg made some pantomime motions like he was throwing something and kept cackling to himself. Then he flew over towards the TV remote, turning it on. "I wonder if someone got it on camera for the news..."

"It was _not_ funny, you little pest!" Felix growled, snatching up the remote to turn the television off. He had been scared out of his mind! He hadn't known that he'd survive the throw without an injury.

Storming off to his room, Felix tried to calm himself down. There was no point in letting his emotions get the better of him. At least, more than they already had. His hands hadn't stopped shaking the whole way home, from the adrenaline or fear he didn't know. Probably both. He never wanted to go through that again, so if he had agreed to 'make appearances' then that was _all_ he was doing. Ladybug could fight all the akuma she wanted, but Felix was _not_ cut out for being a hero.

* * *

Adrien paced around his room, trying to keep his panic from taking over.

He'd lost his freaking miraculous!

How did that happen? Sure, he knew the ring could come off, but still! The worst part was that he hadn't even realized the ring was gone until about a day or two after he had fallen sick! He'd long grown used to the weight of the ring, so he hadn't even thought about it until he realized he hadn't heard Plagg around his room. Immediately, he had asked Nathalie if she or any of the house staff had seen it around, but she just shook her head.

I know I have bad luck, but c'mon!

Did he even have bad luck anymore without Plagg around? Without being Chat Noir? Then again, he'd quit seeing his luck as bad for quite some time now. Plagg was probably the luckiest thing to happen to him in a long time.

 _"And I lost him!"_ he groaned to himself. So much for being Plagg's friend, even if the little kwami wouldn't actually say it out loud.

Adrien ran his hand through his hair repeatedly, not caring how many directions it stood up. He hadn't been allowed to leave his bedroom today, even though his fever was gone. Nathalie had told him to stay in bed to recover since he'd been sick for a couple days straight. She told him that she didn't want him collapsing again, genuine worry in her voice and expression. Adrien knew she cared, even if she acted indifferent sometimes, but he didn't know she cared _that_ much. It was a nice surprise.

He absently turned on his computer, checking up on the Ladyblog. "Please tell me that Ladybug is alright," he hoped. She could definitely handle herself, that was no question. But sometimes akuma were tough to handle, even with both of them. He wondered if she was worried about him. He'd been gone for a few days now...

The screen showed some posts speculating about who his Lady really was, some nonsense (that Adrien totally agreed with) from the more fanatic fans that hoped Ladybug and Chat Noir would get together. Then a few recent akuma attacks... Thank God for Alya, even though Adrien kind of wanted to shake his friend when she put herself in danger.

One video started with Ladybug attacking some akuma by herself. Not that the video was off on its own: Alya tended to get shots of Ladybug mostly. He tried not to feel too slighted about that. There was another video of Ladybug fighting an akuma. No sign of Chat Noir. A couple more videos showed Ladybug mostly after the akuma attack as she did her normal short interviews with people. Maybe no one had found the ring yet...

Then another video, with an akuma flying in the air, causing cars to go flying. He watched as Ladybug leapt down from somewhere, distracting the akuma from throwing cars at the pedestrians. The video cut off for a few seconds as Alya had to take cover for a moment, before the footage went back to Ladybug leaping to the side to tackle someone to the ground...

There! Clear as day, was Chat Noir. The video was a little shaky from Alya moving, but the cat suit was hard to mistake for anything else. Not long after, Ladybug stood up before- Adrien paused for a second. Did she... _did she really throw Chat Noir at an akuma?_ He had thought they were past that by now. Maybe she knew that wasn't him? He hoped she knew.

"...and Ladybug has done it again, with help from Chat Noir, guys! Seriously, dream team or what, am I right? I'm gonna see if I can get an interview again-" Alya's voice interrupted, the camera turning towards her face.

Adrien sat back in his chair, looking at the video as it ended. He felt... oddly empty now as the reality of _just_ being Adrien sank in. He wasn't Chat anymore...Someone else was out there being Chat Noir instead of him. Someone else got to be a hero, got to help people and enjoy the freedom that Chat Noir had given him.

Nathalie came in not long after, bringing some more soup and medicine. Now that his fever had broken, she wanted to make sure it didn't come back. "You also need to drink this," she told him, giving him a glass of cold water. With an almost affectionate hand to his forehead, she told him to relax for the rest of the night before she left him alone.

Instead of eating, he made his way towards his windows. He used to go run through Paris as Chat Noir right around now. Sunset was _purfect_ for a good stroll around the city. Even without Ladybug by his side, he had enjoyed the freedom away from the suffocating schedules and plans for _Adrien Agreste_ the model, son, and student.

That settled it; He wasn't going to give up that easily! He knew Paris better than anyone since he used patrolling as an escape far too often. He'd find the new Chat Noir, and figure out who had his miraculous! Getting his ring back was priority number one.

* * *

It turned out actually escaping his house was harder than he remembered. When he was Chat, Adrien could just leap out the window. Obviously, he couldn't do that now, so he had to try and be sneaky. Not easy when Nathalie seemed to be everywhere and had access to the cameras around the mansion. She was there when he got dropped off for school, and she was there to pick him up every day. He thought she and his father had been overbearing before... It was like they expected him to collapse at a moments notice. The _only_ bright side to him being sick was that his father had given him a week reprieve from modeling work and _some_ of his other lessons at home.

However, there was a downside. He was expected to stay at home and 'rest' the remainder of his time. He could have no visitors, and couldn't leave except for school. Stalking the Ladyblog was his only source of information to any miraculous business. Sure there was the news, but they covered more of the person that was akumatized and what had happened overall. They didn't focus on the heroes in particular except for interviews after the attack was over. Adrien didn't need _after_ the attack; he needed eyes _during_ the attack. Which is where Alya came in.

The videos, in Adrien's opinion, just got worse and worse. He began to notice that the new Chat Noir didn't actually _do_ anything to help out. He'd show up, but he definitely did not engage the akuma. At least Chat tried to avoid fighting, until Ladybug found a way to throw him into the fight, sometimes literally. Adrien winced in sympathy as Ladybug grabbed Chat and pushed him towards the akuma to distract it. Why didn't Chat Noir use Cataclysm to help? Did he not know how to use it? Did he not want to?

There were so many questions, and he wouldn't get any answers just sitting in his room under strict watch. The Ladyblog popped up another video, just now live streaming; Alya trying to chase after Paris' heroes. Maybe now he could finally get some answers...

Popping his head out of his door, Adrien looked back and forth, straining his ears to listen. He could hear Nathalie on the phone with someone, getting flustered for some scheduling accident. Definitely his father then. Nathalie flew past his bedroom door, causing Adrien to jump back behind the door, heart pounding. She hadn't noticed him, and now she was busy...

 _Now was the purfect time to escape!_ Adrien thought with a smirk. Plagg would be so proud of him, sneaking out on his own. All he had to do was find Plagg and get his friend back, then everything could go back to normal.

* * *

 **So there it is, chapter 3! Hope you guys liked it. It was more of a transitional chapter, showing how everyone is (or isn't) getting along. Who am I kidding, like no one is getting along!**

 **Anyway, if you guys have got any ideas for any akuma, let me know! I'll be happy to put them in. I'm tremendously bad at coming up with ideas for them, so any help would be appreciated! If not... I take no responsibility for how cheesy or stupid they turn out!**

 **Keep the feedback coming guys! I love your comments and shamelessly re-read them like a million times to get more inspiration and motivation to write! Until next time, people!**


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